Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-01-14

come crops need Il large amount OF nitro
gen to be supplied bN the farmer such as
wheat aud oats. These crops are cN-
hnusting and expensive. Other crops,
such rs corn, peas and clover, REQUIRE me
farmer to supply but small amount OF
| the total nj rOven in the harvested crop
| Without entering into the discussion ul
where clover gets this nitrogen whether
| from the air or 10y making use OF nitrogen
| IN forms winch can not Oe used 10y other
plants, or merely by sending It's roots
deep into the sub soil to reach supplies
not available to most crops, need not be
discussed. The practical fact for farmers
| is that clover is one of the most valuable
of farm crops and if farmer IN IA rota
| ton of five or six years, Will devote his
| land for Two wears to clover, he will have
small need of buying nitrogen in the form
of commercial fertilizers and paying for 1T
% cents a pound.
Most farms in Vermont used phosphoric
| acid This can be obtained most Cheaply
| in the form of bone meal For grass lani
| the raw bone finely ground can ne applied
| with profit. For corn, potatoes ana Vege-
| tables it will he necessary To cut the bone
with sulphuriC acid toll of vltrloL) Sltt
the bone, NIX acid AT the rate OF 10 pounds
| to the 100 pounds of bone and then stir IN
the fine bone for a dryer. 1t will he bet
ter and safer mixture If 1t is then extend
! ed 10y adding twice its weight of dry dirt.
| Not much of the land in the Champaign
valley needs potash. If wanted it eau be
most cheaply Obtained from ashes, which
contain both potash and phosphOrc acid.
| II the potash alone is desired, it can be OBJ
| tanned in the form of the German potash
salts, the muriate of potash and kainlte
being the cheapest forms.
Worn out land is seldom exhausted of
| both nitrogen, phOsphOrc acid ana potash.
II a farmer desires to increase the fertility
of the soil, in the cheapest manner, he
must first find out which of these elements
are lacking in the soil. This the chemist
cannot tell him, he can only learn it
by plot experiments with his crops
There are two values to ALI crops fed to
stock, the feeding value and the iertiliH-
ing value Few farmers take into ac-
count the latter of these values and yet Il
ratioualiSyS of feeding offers the cheap
est means of bringing on toa worn out farm
| the plant food necessary to restore the
fertility of the soil. Concentrated feed
ing stutfs like bran, mlddlngs, or cotton
seed meal, contain u large amount of fer
tilzing value, rising in cotton seed meal
almost % its cost price. Most farmers
can make these feeds pay for themselves
i'll milk, butter. or flesh leaving the tert1-
lizing value as profit. This then furnishes
the cheapest method of renOVating Il worn
out farm.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
a large audience assembled in the after
noon, there being many from adjoining
towns as well as Shclburn. The fir
speaker was Hon. Henry Lane. who SPOKE
on the Feeding of Farm Stock His
opinion was that raising and feeding farm
stock leads every other agricultural in
dustry in the State-in fact, other branches
OF farming are merely incidental to this.
This industry 5 capable of extension, but
this extension will depend largely on the
intelligence and practical knowledge with
which the business is pursued He he
leves the most important and profitable
branch of farming in the future will be in
raising farm stock and in the production
of meat, wool, milk, butter and cheese
from this stock. An increase III an.
mals and an increase i'll animal
products means an Improvement III our
system of farming, large crops and better
farms. Farmers should understand The
relative value of the various fodder and
} grain crops put on the farm the amount
ana proportion of food elements they con
tain, and how mixed ana fed TO produce
profitable results.
When he farmer has decided what he
wants to produce, he should understand
what Kind and amount of food nutrients
will give the best results. The cOnstitu
ents of animal bodies must he derived
, from the food they consume. They must
be nOurlshed and renewed by digestion
and assmilati ion Of the same elements il
the fodder given. No crop can thirty,
without Il sufficient supply of each of sew
eral elements of plant growth. They cal
not live on any one of these elements, no.
can they grow if any one is wanting
What is true of plants is also true OF ami
| mails. Food that does not contain albu
t men can sustain animal life but "A shur
: time; neither can food containing moth
ing but albumeu sustain life. Food Goa
tanning both the albuminOdS and carhO
hydrates will sustain life, but if fed on
OF proportion to the wants of our animal
will not give growth or production
Z When the farmer decides what h
wants to purchase for his farm stock h
. should understand the kind and propol
u ton of food nutrients that will give tn
results desired, and in what forage G
e grain these can be obtained, and no,
Z. mixed and fed Young growing animal
need food containing a larger per cent {
,, digestible albumen than marurer STOCK
|, Sheep producing wool and cows producin
Is milk need larger per cent of albume
d than the horse or OK, producing labor.